The Future Attractiveness of the Accountancy Profession: What We Heard from Educators, Employers, and Professional Bodies Around the World

Attractiveness of the Profession Education

The Future Attractiveness of the Accountancy Profession: What We Heard from Educators, Employers, and Professional Bodies Around the World

Nikki Schönfeldt, Jacqueline Birt, Phil Hancock | September 1, 2026

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Nikki Schönfeldt

Nikki Schönfeldt is Associate Director of Teaching and Teaching Innovation and Senior Lecturer in Accounting at the University of Western Australia Business School. She is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ).

Nikki's work focuses on accounting education, particularly digital learning design, assessment innovation, and the development of students' professional capabilities. She is a recipient of a 2023 Australian Award for University Teaching Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning and contributes to national and international accounting education initiatives through Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand (AFAANZ) and IFAC-affiliated projects.

Jacqueline Birt

International Association for Accounting Education and Research (IAAER)

Jac is the Head of the School of Business and Professor of Accounting at Charles Sturt University. Previously she was Deputy Dean and Head of the Department of Accounting and Finance at UWA. Jac is the current Vice President-Education at the International Association for Accounting Education and Research (IAAER). She is a past Australian President of the Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand (AFAANZ), past Chair of the Chairs in Accounting and Finance (CAFF) and has served on the International Accounting Education Standards Board Consultative Advisory Group (IAESB CAG)

Phil Hancock

Phil Hancock is Professor of Accounting and Director of Student Experience in the University of Western Australia Business School.

He is a Fellow of CPA Australia, Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ), and the Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand (AFAANZ). Phil is an Associate Editor of the Journal of Accounting Education and has led and contributed to numerous nationally funded projects in accounting education. He has received several teaching awards, including a National Carrick Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning and AFAANZ awards for his contributions to accounting education and accounting practice.